MNE3702 Semester2 2018
Student No: 56430159
Assignment 2
Due date: 2018/09/07
Unique No: 880669
Question 1
Types of organizational structure
1. Simple structure
This structure is highly informal has tasks coordination completed through direct
supervision and all strategies are established at the top.
 Minimal specialization of tasks exists and there is very little formalization of programs
rules or regulations.
 Low degree of bureaucracy exists and informations systems are kept simple.
 Power is concentrated at the top and there is minimal need for integrating
mechanism.
2. Machine Bureaucracy
The structure is very hierarchical, bureaucratic, rigid and mechanistic having
coordination of tasks accomplished through standardization of work.
 Emphasis is made on the importance in following formal guidelines and plans.
 A large techno structure exists in the company to design and plan operations.
 Technology is somewhat automated and integrated into operations.
 Well-developed information systems exist but they focus on internal reporting
and output tracking rather than on market developments.
 Power is concentrated on the top executives and those who design workflow
processes with little disseminated to middle- or lower level management.
3. Organic
A highly flexible structure with limited hierarchy.
 Groups of specialists from different work areas collaborate to design and
produce complex and rapidly changing products.
 Emphasis is on extensive personal interaction and face-to face
communication, frequent meetings, use of committees and other liaison
devices to ensure collaboration.
 Authority is linked to expertise and power is decentralized.
 Few bureaucratic rules or standard procedures exist.
 Sensitive information gathering systems are in place for anticipating and
monitoring the external environment.
4. Divisional
Self -contained profit centers exists for producing and marketing different product
lines or groups.
 Divisions may differ significantly from one another in terms of their structures
with some being more organic and others more bureaucratic.
 There is overall pressure for divisions to conform and for formalization and
standardization of procedures and methods.
 They somewhat operate independently with a fair amount of decision-making
authority delegated to divisional managers.
 Control is facilitated by complex management systems. Coordination across
divisions is achieved via inter-unit committees and a staff infrastructure at the
head office.
56430159-MNE3702Sem02Assign022018-880669
Open Rubric
Question 2
From my opinion Google makes use of the Organic organizational type of structure.
Characteristic
Organic
Application
Power Centralization
Scientists, technocrats and
A casual and democratic
middle managers
atmosphere resulting in a
flat company. Google does
not boast a large middle
management and upper
management is so hands
on. Teams are made up of
members with equal
authority and a certain
degree of autonomy is
maintained. No ‘top down’
hierarchy.
Specialization
Extensive
Groups of trained specialists
from different work areas
collaborate to design and
produce complex and
rapidly changing products.
Google has a highly
collaborative culture.
Integration and coordination By integrating personnel &
Open culture where
task forces via mutual
everyone is a contributor
adjustments
and feels comfortable
sharing ideas and opinion.
Their offices and cafes are
designed to promote
interactions between
googlers within and across
teams.
Dynamism / uncertainty
Very High
Willingness to learn from
experiments and learn from
its mistakes.
Growth
Rapid
Continuously developing
relevant design systems.
Company spends a lot of
time and money on the
recruitment process of
potential employees.
56430159-MNE3702Sem02Assign022018-880669
Question 3
Unpacking “creative abrasion”
 Creative abrasion fosters entrepreneurship.
 Requires that managers figure out how to get different approaches and perspectives
to grate against one another in a productive process.
 Calls for the development of leadership styles that focus on identifying and
incorporating polarized viewpoints.
 The probabilities of unexpected juxtapositions are sharply increased as are levels of
mutual understanding.
 A corporate culture of heightened sensitivity and harmony is achieved.
 Serves to facilitate divergence.
 Must be complemented by leadership styles and structures that ultimately produce
convergence.
 Highlights differences that are natural, that increase the level of stimulation and
variety in the organisation.
 It is an art, requiring patience and a sense of when to let the friction run its course,
and when to interfere so as to avoid permanent dead ends.
Application and examples
1. Hiring people.
2. Googlers hail from all walks of life and speak dozens of languages reflecting a
global audience that google serves.
3. The setup of Google offices and Cafes encourages its personnel to interact within
and across teams to spark conversation about work as well as play.
4. Open culture and teams are made up of members where all have equal authority
but a certain level of autonomy is maintained.
5. Challenging a team with seemingly incompatible goals.
6. Blurring responsibilities between departments or functions/ everyone is a handson contributor.
56430159-MNE3702Sem02Assign022018-880669
Question 4
1. Passionately seek new opportunities.
Google’s mission statement is to organize the world’s information and make it
universally accessible and useful.
2. Pursue opportunities with enormous discipline.
Google employs people who are smart and determined and they favor ability over
experience. Google operates on a methodical nature of task-based and engineer
design systems.
3. Pursue only the very best opportunities and avoid exhausting themselves and their
organization’s by chasing after every option.
Google spends a lot of time on money and recruitment of potential employees.
4. Focus on execution specifically adaptive execution.
Google operates on a culture of delegation to ensure projects are accomplished.
The executives (Larry and Sergey) still play an active role in the day-to-day affairs of
Google.
5. They engage the energies of everyone in their domain.
Interactions are encouraged.
Everyone can be considered hands-on contributors share ideas and opinions.
Decision making meant for management such as hiring amongst others is done in a
collaborative process.
Question 5
The four flexible rules which enhance a venture’s chance of remaining adaptive and
innovative both through and beyond the growth stage are
Rule
Application
Share the entrepreneurial vision.
Googlers share common goals and visions
for the company.
The entrepreneurial vision is permeated
throughout google, assisting employees to
understand the direction and share in the
responsibility for its growth.
Despite the fact that they hail from all walks
of life and speak dozens of languages
reflects the global audience that they serve.
Increase the perception of opportunity.
Google strives to maintain the open culture
often associated with startups, in which
everyone is a hands-on and feels
comfortable sharing ideas and opinions.
Institutionalize change as the organization’s Google’s willingness to learn from its
goal.
experiment and from its mistakes
compliments perfectly its internal
collaborative structure is evident enough for
the organization’s readiness to change.
Instill the desire to be innovative
Google strives to maintain the open culture
often associated with startups, in which
everyone is a hands- on contributor and
feels comfortable sharing ideas and
opinions.
56430159-MNE3702Sem02Assign022018-880669
Question 6
The five key capabilities that would contribute towards Google achieving a sustainable
competitive advantage are
Capability
Adaptability
Flexibility
Speed
Innovativeness
Aggressiveness
Description
Ability to adjust to new conditions on a
regular basis without losing focus or
causing significant disruption of core
operations and commitments. New
conditions include: new technologies, new
customer needs, new regulatory rules.
Ability to design company strategies,
processes and operational approaches that
can simultaneously meet the diverse and
evolving requirements of stakeholders(such
as customers, distributors, suppliers,
financiers, regulators etc)
Ability to act quickly on emerging
opportunities, to develop new products and
services more rapidly and to make critical
operational decisions without lengthy
deliberations.
A continuous priority placed on developing
and launching new products, services,
processes, markets and technologies on
leading the marketplace.
An intense, focused, and proactive
approach to eliminating competitors and
growing employees.
Question 7
Entrepreneurial intensity refers to the assessment of the overall level of entrepreneurship in
an organization through combining the degree of entrepreneurship (level of innovativeness,
pro-activeness and risk-taking) and the frequency of entrepreneurship(the number of
entrepreneurial events that take place in a given period of time).
1) Google is an innovative organisation.
Businesses make use of Google’s AdWords program to promote products and services.
The use of Google’s AdSense program to deliver relevant AdWords is a sign of innovative
organization.
2) Google is also a risk-taking organisation. Favor ability over experience, ignoring the
tried and tested personnel can be risky for any organisation.
The company spends a lot of time and finances on the recruitment process of
potential employees.
3) Google is a proactive organisation.
Their offices and cafes are designed to encourage interactions between Googlers
within and across teams and to spark conversation about work as well as play.
56430159-MNE3702Sem02Assign022018-880669
RESULTS
Total = 48 / 50 (96%)